This application is submitted for the purchase of a microscope that offers a unique opportunity to capture detailed images of macro as well as microscopic subjects. The Nikon AZ100 Macro/Micro Zoom Microscope was introduced to the U.S. market earlier this year and offers the advantages of a stereoscope (e.g., wide field of view with a long working distance) combined with the advantages of a compound microscope featuring high-resolution images. The AZ100 images specimens using white light as well as UV illumination over a broad range of magnifications (5-400x) using a novel vertical optical system that eliminates distortion introduced by stereoscopic inclination. This novel optical configuration facilitates the continuous switching of magnified images of a single specimen from macro to micro ranges. As a consequence of the elimination of inclination distortion, the AZ100 also facilitates real time deconvolution of macro subjects resulting in unique representations of three-dimensional subjects. We propose to purchase the AZ100 and install this device in a facility proximal to seven laboratories that will be major users. The research conducted within each of these laboratories requires imaging of macro (e.g., developing zebrafish, frog, mouse, and pig embryos, fetal mouse hearts, canine lenses) as well as micro (e.g., tissue sections) subjects using white light and UV illumination. This equipment will also be available to other interested laboratories at North Carolina State University and the broader Research Triangle research community as required. The long term objective and specific aims of this proposal are to utilize this versatile microscope to capture detailed images of a variety of macro and microscopic subjects for research and teaching purposes. We anticipate that these images will greatly enhance our capacity to analyze and document our experimental results as well as communicate with students and colleagues. The relevance of this equipment proposal is the each of the proposed major users is currently using a bevy of animal models to reveal mechanisms underlying normal human development, human developmental defects, human cancers, and virus-induced human diseases. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]